Berserker (Q4)
In Quake 4, the Berserker is a 7-foot tall, mid-level, humanoid Strogg unit designed for close quarters combat. It's right forearm is a long, metal spike and it's left hand is an extendable mace/morningstar. The Berserker is very agile and can close in on targets at an alarming speed. It has an ability to create shockwaves of electricity aimed directly at a target via its blade, either by firing a bolt of lightning directly at a target, or by sending a shockwave through the ground. Combat Characteristics Berserkers run straight at the target upon detection, and attack with the blade or the mace. Their blade has reasonably good range and can be used while the player is several feet away. The mace can also be detached and swung as a morning star with a range of several feet. Although they usually charge in a straight line, Berserkers are agile and can hop sideways to dodge gunfire. Besides point-blank melee attacks, Berserkers also possess a couple of close-combat ranged attacks via the channeling of electricity through their blade arm. Berserkers can slam their blade into the ground and send a wave of electricity through the floor at the target; this attack has a range of more than 15 feet and often catches the target by surprise. They can also fire a bolt of lightning directly at the target with their blade arm which hits instantly and has a range of about 15-20 feet, although this method of attack is seldomly used. Berkserkers are quite fast; they run noticeably faster than humans and many other strogg units, making them an enemy the player should destroy fast. If the player tries to outrun one, a Berserker will catch up and attack, which could prove deadly at higher difficulty levels. The first appearance of a Berserker occurs slightly past the halfway mark of the first level, after which they slowly become more common, eventually replacing Grunts as the game's main melee-using enemy. Usually, there is only one Berserker unit deployed in battle in a certain area, but it is possible for two Berserkers to appear at a time, which could pose a serious threat to the player. Like Gunners and Iron Maidens, they are a mid-level Strogg unit with fairly high durability, and on Normal difficulty it takes about 20-30 machine gun rounds or 3 point-blank shotgun blasts to kill one. Strategies The Berserker can be a real threat, especially on higher difficulties. Because of it's speed, running backwards isn't very effective, especially since it can still slash you with the blade at a reasonably long range. Contact with the blade may be avoided by strafing to the sides. If the player tries to move out, it will engage him with electricity fired from the right arm, after which it will rush towards the player. The Morning Star will only be used if the player stands still and lets it attack him at melee range. Overall, you need to kill the Berserker as quickly as possible once it appears, before it can close in on you and cause moderate damage. The Hyperblaster and Nailgun are very effective against it, as they deal a constant stream of damage and will still be effective at long range, out of harm's way. The Nailgun is also effective since it can interrupt a Berserker's attacks, giving the player a much needed advantage. The Shotgun is the best weapon to use at short range, but requires skill to aim, as at such short range the Berserker's attacks will cause the player to fly around, possibly resulting in a few missing pellets. Headshots cause additional damage, so hitting the head with a shotgun proves especially effective. At close range a direct hit from the shotgun has the added advantage of briefly stunning the Berserker, interrupting its attack. On Normal difficulty the machine gun also works reasonably well at long range, but on harder difficulties it can take up to 60 rounds to kill a single Berserker, making it fairly ineffective considering how quickly the Berserker can charge towards it's target. A good strategy is to engage the Berserker with machine gun or hyperblaster fire at long range, then quickly switch to the shotgun to finish it off once it reaches medium range. Explosives are ineffective against Berserkers, because by the time the explosives detonate, the Berserker will already be out of explosion range due to its high speed. If a Berserker is encountered amongst other types of hostiles, neutralising it becomes a priority. As long as a berserker functions, it will constantly attack you until either one of you dies, making it hard to focus on other targets. Keep your distance at all times, as its powerful melee attack cause moderate damage. As the Berserker cannot jump, it is possible to get out of reach of its melee attacks by being on a different height level. For example, jumping off a ledge or even just hopping onto a slightly elevated conveyor belt makes it impossible for the Berserker to reach the player. This will force the Berserker to use it's electric attack. Though still damaging, it's not as devastating as its fearsome melee capabilities, which may kill an armored player upon impact on harder difficulties. Trivia * It has a nearly identical head to a Gunner, which probably used the same stockpile of body parts, or had the same clone donors. Category:Quake 4 Enemies